


Mystery Skulls: Swap AU

by TigerMultiverse



Series: MSA stories [3]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Based on a Tumblr Post, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Other, The Author Regrets Nothing, based on a comic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27341698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerMultiverse/pseuds/TigerMultiverse
Summary: Arthur opened his eyes and saw the spirit staring at him longingly. Then it’s golden heart started floating towards Arthur and just before the mechanic could grab it, Vivi grabbed him and they ran out of the mansion and drove away from the vengeful ghost.The van drove further and further away from the glowing pink mansion, Arthur stared out the back door window in confusion, his star pin, which is connected to his emotions, turned a grey color around the edges.Did that ghost know them?
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis & Mystery & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur & Mystery (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007388
Comments: 1
Kudos: 91





	Mystery Skulls: Swap AU

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a comic on Tumblr by Hyperchronic. [MSA Comic Page 1](https://hyperchronic.tumblr.com/post/102050421447/i-love-this-song-animation-so-much-i-had-to-draw-a)
> 
> This comic was done before Mystery Skulls: Freaking Out was released, so this fanfic does not follow the timeline we know.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The van drove further and further away from the glowing pink mansion, Arthur stared out the back door window in confusion, his star pin, which is connected to his emotions, turned a grey color around the edges. 
> 
> Did that ghost know them?

The Mystery Skulls we’re driving through town when the van broke down in front of a pulsing mansion. Arthur was a little reluctant to go in, but Vivi insisted they at least look around. The three of them went inside and were confronted by these adorable pink spirits, who then turned scary and chased them around the mansion. They came into a hallway where the paintings came alive and also turned vicious!

Then they fell through a trapdoor…

...and they were falling down a hole for what seemed like forever.

They were falling along with a lot of objects, including some mirrors that showed something else aside from them.

Vivi’s mechanical arm wasn’t there.

Arthur didn’t have eyes.

And the mirror shattered when Mystery looked into it.

Then Vivi started to fall faster than Arthur and Mystery and she slammed into the floor, which was not pleasant. She came face to face with a large black coffin with four posts by its sides. The coffin then opened and revealed a skeleton ghost, in a black and pink tuxedo.

It was really cool until the ghost, with his imposing broad shoulders, glared down at Vivi with hate and rage in his eye sockets and pointed at her.

The post things then burst into magenta fire and with a fancy wave of his head the spirit, flames burst on his skull, and pink pupils appeared in his empty eye sockets.

Vivi would be squealing if she wasn’t so scared, so she turned and ran for her life. At one point she looked back and saw that yep it was chasing her with pink fire trailing behind it. She ran into Arthur and Mystery at some point but lost them when they all started running in and out of random rooms and it made Vivi’s head hurt.

Eventually, the vengeful spirit had cornered Vivi and was about to hit her when Arthur jumped in front of his friend to shield her with his eyes closed.

When nothing hit him, Arthur opened his eyes and saw the spirit staring at him longingly. Then it’s golden heart started floating towards Arthur and every instinct in Arthur told him that he definitely knew him! He did! But before the mechanic could grab it, Vivi grabbed him and they ran out of the mansion and drove away from the vengeful ghost.

The van drove further and further away from the glowing pink mansion, Arthur stared out the back door window in confusion, his star pin, which is connected to his emotions, turned a grey color around the edges.

Did that ghost know them?

Normally, after something like that, Arthur wouldn’t really care and run as far away as he could. But...something about that ghost seemed familiar.

“Hey, Vivi? Did that ghost know us?” Arthur voiced his confusion, turning from the window to look at Vivi who was in the driver seat with her loyal dog.

Mystery watched Vivi as the girl gripped the steering wheel, her flesh and mechanical arms shaking as sweat dripped down her face. “I-I don’t think so! Maybe it’s just you.” Vivi shakingly smiled with a nervous look on her face.

“...okay?” Arthur made a confused face at Vivi’s nervousness when suddenly the temperature of the van changed. “Huh. It feels warmer in here all of a sudden.” Arthur said as he pulled his shirt collar away to fan off.

“Yeah...it’s getting kinda hot,” Vivi said before reaching over to turn the air conditioning on.

“Do you think it’s that ghost? Maybe he followed us to try and tell us something.” Arthur stood up with a hand against the van wall, curiosity surging through him making his star pin glow a golden yellow. “Should we go ba-?”

Vivi suddenly slammed on the brakes, making Arthur lose balance and slam into the back doors with a ‘thump!’.

“Ow! _Vivi!_ ” Arthur groaned as he sat up.

“Sorry!” Vivi made her way over the seats and over to Arthur, helping the mechanic stand. “Look, Arthur...lets just go home and watch a movie this time.”

This shocked Arthur, Vivi would never blow something like this off. “But Vivi, you always get excited over stuff like this.”

“I know,” Vivi sighed. “But, after that spirit tried to kill me, I’m not in the mood to go back. Maybe we can tomorrow, but right now let’s just go home and eat pizza, okay?”

Arthur smiled, nodding as he clasped his and Vivi’s hands together, his pin yellow with pink in the middle. “Okay.”

Just after that, Mystery’s voice rang out. “Arthur! Vivi!” The two looked over to see pink flames and electricity on the steering wheel and console. Suddenly, the van started and raced off at high speeds.

“WOAH!” Arthur and Vivi were swept off their feet and fell to the van floor.

“HEY! MY VAN!” Arthur cried out as he picked himself off from the floor and headed towards the front seat, where Mystery still was. “What are you-!” Arthur trailed off when he saw how fast they were going, then looked at the dog with a nervous expression, his star pin going a bit grey with anxiety. “Well, it can’t get any worse right?” Mystery didn’t say anything, just pointed with his paw to the oncoming cliff they were heading towards.

“Arthur?” Vivi approaches her friend who suddenly went still with a blank look on his face as his star pin turned black. “What is it?”

“WERE GONNA DIE!” Arthur cried out as he tightly embraced Vivi and the van drove off the cliff.

“Vivi!” The mechanic yelped when he fell back, grasping his friend's mechanical arm.

“Artie! Take my-!” Vivi reached her hand out to try and pull Arthur to her, but her mechanical arm detached and Arthur slammed into the back doors.

“Ow, sorry Vi.”

“Don’t worry about that! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine, considering that we’re about to die horribly.” Arthur almost deadpanned as he stared at Vivi’s prosthetic arm.

“Okay, well, since we're gonna die…”

“VIVI! Don’t drop some bomb now!!”

“It’s now or never! I am not gonna go to the afterlife without telling you this!”

“VIVI”

“JUST LISTEN!” Vivi cried desperately. She had to say this to her best friend before they died, he deserves to know. “Artie, that night in the cave there were four of us, not three. That fourth guy, he-!”

The van suddenly came to a stop in mid air, making Vivi and Arthur fly to the front and slam into the seats while Mystery’s head slammed into the horn button on the steering wheel, making the honk go on for a while. The three Mystery Skulls stayed still for some time until Arthur groaned as he pulled Mystery’s head back from the horn.

“That’s...not helping Mystery…”

“The van...stopped.” Vivi breathed out in relief and looked at the back doors. “Are you alright?”

“I’m having a heart attack.” Arthur said plainly, a shaky smile on his face as sweat masked it and his pin grey but starting to turn back to its normal gold color. “I guess the ghost just wanted to scare us. Oh! Here’s your arm Vi.” Arthur and Vivi sat on the back of the seats as the mechanic reattached his friend's arm.

“Thanks Artie.”

“So, what were you saying earlier?”

“Oh, uh well-“ Vivi trailed off with a look of shock on her face.

“What? Tell me!” Arthur prompted, unaware of what was happening.

“Arthur, you're floating!” Vivi exclaimed.

True to her word, he was. Arthur was surrounded in pink as he hovered in the air.

“That’s so COOL!” Vivi smiles as stars appear in her blue eyes. The stars disappeared when the pink mass started pulling Arthur up.

“ACK! It’s not cool! Something’s pulling me! HELP!” Arthur cried as he held his hands out for his friend.

“I’ve got-!” Vivi had just grabbed her best friends when he was pulled out of her grip. “-you!”

Arthur had tears in his eyes as he was pulled away from Vivi and through the van doors. “Vivi! Tell uncle Lance I’m sorry!” He said just before the van doors slammed shut, and Vivi could only stare helplessly at the closed doors before the van suddenly shook and turned upright, making Vivi stumble and fall to the floor.

“Vivi, get up.” Said girl looked up and saw her dog walk over to the doors. “We need to get the doors open and save Arthur before Lew-“

“I’m sorry Mystery. This is all my fault.”

Vivi cut the dog off, she was sitting up now, her face shadowed as she fell into a deep ocean of despair and self-anger.

“I dragged Arthur here, even after he said that he didn’t wanna go to the mansion, and now he’s probably dead. _Because of me._ ” Vivi was crying, it was all her fault, her friend was dead and it was her fault.

“Don’t say that Vivi.” Mystery’s two paws held Vivi’s mechanical hand in comfort and looked into her teary blue eyes.

“It’s not your fault, and Arthur knows that. He came, even though didn’t want to, because he cares about you. Just because you made a few mistakes doesn’t mean you aren’t a good friend. Arthur loves you, and he wouldn’t blame you for what happened, so you shouldn’t blame yourself.” Mystery’s voice held determination as he spoke gently, but it sounded so loud to Vivi.

Shaking and almost near sobbing, Vivi wrapped her arms around her dog and hugged him, burying her face in his white fur. “...thank you Mystery. I really needed that.”

Mystery smiled and hugged his owner back, nuzzling his face against her shoulder before gently pushing her out of the embrace. “Are you okay now?”

“Y-yeah. I am.” Vivi wiped away her tears and stood with a smile. “Okay! Let's save Arthur!”

“Right! And if we hurry, we might be able to stop Lewis before he–”

“But, Mystery. Lewis is dead.” Vivi cut the dog off, confused as to why Mystery said Lewis.

  
  


* * *

Meanwhile, Arthur stared down at his van as the doors slammed shut and the mechanic rose further into the air. As he rose further and further into the air, Arthur internally panicked because he didn’t really trust himself not to scream if he opened his mouth.

 _‘Okay, okay, don’t panic Arthur.’_ Arthur took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself.

 _‘Let's focus on what’s happening right now. Instead of crashing and dying in a fiery explosion…’_ Arthur recounted the recent events as he continued to rise in the air and twirl and flip around. _‘...I’m being held hostage by an angry ghost.’_

 _‘I’m so gonna die!’_ Arthur began to panic again when the thought of dying came to mind.

_‘But what do I do?’_

Arthur’s attention was drawn from his thoughts at the sound of a whooshing type noise and looked up to see a large pink mass. He was risen further until he was at the pink mass, which me now sees is a platform, and was gently placed down onto the solid pink platform.

“Woah.” Arthur tapped his shoe a couple times on the platform, eyes shining and pin glowing bright yellow as he walked ahead a few steps. “This is amazing. Vivi would have loved this! But, how can-!”

_**“Arthur…”** _

The mechanic stopped, then turned around to see the same vengeful spirit from the mansion. His fiery pink hair looking as if it was flowing in the wind. And his eyes...they held warmth and love for Arthur, as if he knew him.

**_“I...I missed you Arthur.”_ **

“It...it’s you, from the mansion. But, how do you know my name?” Arthur almost took a step back, but stayed in place as he stared at the ghost in confusion.

 _ **“We–AUGH!!”** _The specter had started to reach a hand out for Arthur, but quickly recoiled and curled in on himself in pain. He fell to the floor and groaned in pain, his hair and form going dim.

“O-oh! Hey, are you alright?” Arthur stared at the ghost worriedly, he wasn’t as scared of the ghost anymore so he allowed himself to be worried for him.

 ** _“Arthur… open my heart…”_** The ghost reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue heart locket that had a crack on it. **_“...you’ll remember everything.”_**

 _‘Your heart?’_ The ghost made the locket float to the mechanic, as it got closer to him, it went from blue to green to gold, the crack mending along with the color. Arthur caught and held it.

“What will I remember?”

 _ **“The truth.”**_ The ghost stood on shaking legs. _**“Of what happened to me.”**_

“...the truth.” Arthur has only ever wanted the truth, about who this specter was, about his memory loss, about Vivi’s unease, about everything.

So, with slight hesitation, Arthur opened the locket.

...and stared in shock at what he saw.

“Wait, you’re–!!”

Arthur didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence when pink electricity came from the locket and zapped him in the eyes, stunning him and sending his mind somewhere else.

 _ **“Arthur! Are you…ohh…”**_ The ghost was about to go over to the mechanic when his hair suddenly went out and he passed out, falling to the ground as his form became more transparent.

“Arghh...n...no...no…! NO!”

Arthur wasn’t on the platform anymore, now he was in a dark green cave with tons of sharp stalagmites all over it…and Lewis was impaled on one of them.

**“LEWIS!!”**

Arthur reached a hand out for the man he had forgotten. His eyes were magenta and glowing but he didn’t pay that any mind and took a couple of shaking steps before breaking out into a sprint towards Lewis’ prone and bleeding form.

“Lewis!!” Arthur dropped down to his knees at Lewis’ side, tears dripping down his face as he brought the man's head into his lap, fingers threading through his soft hair. “Oh, Lewis! Please don’t leave me!”

“…Arthur…” Lewis opened his eyes and smiled at Arthur, blood dripped down his chin and his eyes were dull. “…you…remembered me…”

“What?” The mechanic was confused, until his surroundings suddenly changed.

He wasn't in the cave anymore, he was back on the pink platform under the night sky. And he was being held by…

_**“Arthur, it’s me. Lewis.”**_

_**** _

…now he remembered. He remembered Lewis, and he didn’t understand how he could have forgotten him. He looked completely different but his voice was the same.

“…Lewy?” Arthur spoke hesitantly.

 _ **“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember that nickname…”** _Lewis was always embarrassed by that nickname, and it showed now on his skull how much he didn’t like that Arthur remembered it.

“You came back!” Arthur’s smile was blinding as he grabbed Lewis’ skull and pressed his lips to where the ghosts would be. Lewis’s eyes turned into hearts and an enormous blush covered his cheek bones, same with Arthur, and his star pin was a bright pink as his love for the man he had forgotten completely consumed his entire being and he pulled himself closer to Lewis. The ghost, still in shock, managed to wrap his arms loosely around Arthur’s waist and pulled him even closer.

They pulled apart after what seemed like forever, and Arthur didn’t want to stray too far from Lewis, so he hugged the man tightly.

“I’ve missed you so much Lewis! I’m so sorry I forgot you! This should never have happened to you!” Arthur cried as he desperately clung to the man.

A moment later, Arthur opened his eyes at the sound of...giggling?

The mechanic pulled back at arm's length and saw that Lewis was blushing madly with heart eye sockets. It seemed like he was lost in space.

“Dude, are you alright?” Arthur asked the specter. It managed to snap Lewis out of his trance enough for him to pull Arthur back against him and lock their lips together. Their eyes closed and they completely forgot everything thing around them, lost in the feeling of each other.

Reluctantly, they pulled apart and stared into each other’s eyes, smiling gently as their faces flushed.

“Lewis, I–” Arthur began but was cut off at the sound of Vivi screaming ‘WHAT!?’. Lewis pulled Arthur flush against his chest.

_**“What was that?!”** _

They looked over the pink platforms edge at the van, where they could hear muffled shouting from Vivi and Mystery, but Vivi sounded very panicked and fearful.

“Vivi?” Arthur questioned, he almost forgot about her, bye before he could say anything else, Lewis’ grip on him tightened and his fire burned hotter.

 **“Oh... _Vivi...”_** The mechanic looked at his boyfriend and almost recoiled at the sight. His eyes were glowing a bright and menacing magenta, while his voice was low and deep, holding anger and rage as he spoke.

Arthur’s star pin turned grey around the edges as he stared at Lewis’ rageful skull, unease and fear making the mechanic sweat and go still.


End file.
